SHOTTS Bon Accord’s new manager believes the only way is up for his new side.

Kieran McGuinness was announced as Tam McDonald’s successor last week as the Bonny prepare for the upcoming Super First season.

And while the 34-year-old thinks the Hannah Park men did well to maintain their league status last year, he wants Shotts to be pushing for promotion as soon as possible.

He said: “After I had spoken to the board at Shotts I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

“Shotts are a massive club and you don’t need to be sold on them. I was the assistant at Cumnock for the last year and that was after I had a year out of the game.

“Before that I was manager of Thorniewood for four years and I felt the time was right to come back into management.

“Bringing in an assistant like Paul Finnegan is great too because he knows what it’s all about at Shotts.

“We’ll have short-term goals which we’ll want to make, but long-term I think we should at least be aiming for a play-off place.

“That’s the kind of pressure I’m putting on myself but I feel like this team will be capable of doing good things.

“Last year with Cumnock we won the Super League First so it means I know about the league and hopefully that will help us. When I got offered the chance to return as a manager at Shotts, it was a no-brainer.”

Bon Accord finished ninth last year in the Super League First, however they flirted with relegation throughout the second half of the season.

It is a scenario McGuinness is keen to avoid this year and he believes he is picking up the squad at a perfect time.

He said: “The club have been in transition for the past couple of years but there is a good mix of young and old at the club.

“Now is the time for the club to kick on and I want to finish the year as high as we possibly can.